Rotating tray refrigerator unit



June 8, 1954 c. A. STANFIEL ETAL 2,680,658

ROTATING TRAY REFRIGERATOR UNIT Original Filed Aug. 13. 1948 :El E-J. F1. :-5

INVENTOKS CHARLES A.STANF'IEL G Rosenn- J. I2E\LLET Patented June 8, 1954 ROTATING TRAY REFRIGERATOR Charles A. Stanfiel, Fort Amador, 0. Z., and Robert J. Reilley, Albuquerque, N. Mex.

Substituted for abandoned application Serial No.

44,636, August 13, 1948. This application February 26, 1952, Serial No. 273,396

2 Claims.

This invention relates to refrigerators and more particularly to rotating tray arrangements for household refrigerators.

A main object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved household refrigerator unit which is very simple in construction, provides very economical utilization of space in the refrigerator, and which provides very convenient access to articles stored in the refrigerator.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved refrigerator unit having a curved smooth interior surface which is very easy to clean, which has no openings in its Walls, whereby it may be properly sealed against the entry of heat and which provides a maximum amount of usable space for a given area.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and claims, and from the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view, partly broken away, of a household. refrigerator constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional View taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged elevational view of the tray supporting rack employed in the refrigerator of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional detail view taken on line i4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a top plan view of a pair of tray segments employed with the rack of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional detail View taken on line 6-6 of Figure 3.

Figure '7 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional detail view taken through the overlapping peripheral portions of the tray segments of Figure 5.

Referring to the drawings, ii generally designates the refrigerator unit, said unit being cylindrical in shape and comprising a hollow cylindrical base 62 and a suitably insulated cylindrical refrigeration cabinet l3 supported on and secured to said base. Base i2 contains a conventional compressor whose drive motor is shown at M, the compressor and motor being mounted on a supporting platform !5 suitably suspended from the bottom of cabinet iii. The freezer unit of the refrigerator is shown at E5 and is rigidly secured in the top portion of cabinet l3. Cabinet i3 is provided with a main door ll, providing access to the space in cabinet it below freezer unit l6.

Rotatably mounted in vertically aligned bearings l9 and 26 secured respectively to the bottom 2 of freezer unit I6 and the floor of the space in cabinet 13 and axially located in said cabinet is a vertical shaft 2|. Rigidly secured to shaft 2| are spaced sets of radial horizontal rack bars 22, each set comprising four identical rack bars spaced apart Each rack bar has an upstanding end lug 23. Each set of rack bars carries a tray unit shown generally at 24, said tray unit comprising a pair of semi-circular segments 25 and 26 formed of heavy wire and defining a grid-like supporting surface. The peripheral marginal wire elements of the segments are formed at their midpoints with openings 21 adapted to receive upstanding end lugs 23 of diametrically opposed radial arms 22. The inner marginal wire elements of the segments, shown respectively at 28 and 29 are of half thickness as compared with the peripheral marginal wire elements, and are relatively offset so as to be overlapped with each other in the manner shown in Figure I, when the segments are brought together to define a full disc, the ends of said inner marginal wire elements being formed with registrable apertures 36, iii. The upstanding end lugs 23 of the remaining pair of diametrically opposed radial arms 22 of the set are adapted to be received in the respective pairs of registering openings 36, 3! to lock the segments in mating position on the rack arms. The mid-portions of the respective inner wire elements 28 and 29 are arcuately curved, as shown at 32 and 33 to provide clearance for the shaft 2|.

The segments 26 and 25 of each tray unit may be readily removed for cleaning by lifting them upwardly off the rack bars 22.

Access may be readily obtained to all parts of the various tray units 24 by rotating the tray rack assembly in the bearings l9 and 20. This enables all portions of the tray units to be efficiently utilized for food storage and facilitates the inspection of the contents of the tray units as well as the placement of articles thereon and the removal of articles therefrom.

Since the interior wall of the cabinet 13 is cylindrical, there are no corners in which food or other particles may lodge, and said interior wall is easy to keep clean. Furthermore, there are no rack hooks or the like in the walls, so that the walls are free of apertures and the leakage of heat into the cabinet through the walls is minimized.

This application is a substitute of application Serial No. 44,036, filed August 13, 1948.

What is claimed is:

1. A household refrigerator unit including a vertical cylindrical cabinet having its top and bottom closed, a vertical shaft mounted coaxially within said cabinet with its ends rotatably journaled in said top and bottom, at least one set of rack bars carried radially by and spaced about said shaft and lying in a common plane, each of said bars having one endsecured to said shaft, an upstanding lug on the other end of each bar, a pair of complemental grid-like semicircular tray segments arranged in coplanar relation and supported on said set of rack bars to form a circular tray, the facing edges of said tray segments overlapping each other, said tray segments being apertured at spaced intervals along the peripheral margins to receive the adjacent upstanding lugs, and a door hingedly attached to said cabinet to permit access therein.

2. A household refrigerator unit including a vertical cylindrical cabinet having its top and bottom closed, a vertical shaft mounted coaxially within said cabinet with its ends rotatably journaled in said top and bottom, at least one set of rack bars carried radially by and spaced about said shaft and lying in a common plane, each of said bars having one end secured to said shaft, an upstanding lug on the other end of each bar, a pair of complemental grid-like semicircular tray segments arranged in coplanar relation and supported on said set of rack bars to form a circular tray, the facing edges of said tray segments overlapping each other, there being an aperture in each of the facing edges of said tray segments, said apertures being in registry with each other and together receiving the adjacent lug, each of said tray segments being provided with spaced apertures in the peripheral margin and receiving therein the adjacent lugs, and a door hingedly attached to said cabinet to permit access therein.

References Cited in the file of thi patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 456,728 Lamson July 28, 1891 1,474,847 Phillips Nov. 20, 1923 2,142,008 Scott Dec. 2'7, 1938 2,346,914 Drucker Apr. 18, 1944 

